Product Description

Dead West combines the best of two genres, zombie horror movies and westerns, to create an all-new manga adventure. During America's westward expansion, a small Indian village was wiped out to make way for the town of Lazarus. Only one Indian, a child, survived, and years later he returns to Lazarus to claim revenge, placing a curse on the town. Soon, the dead have risen from their graves and a mob of zombies is ransacking Lazarus. While the sheriff and cowboys fight the undead, a bounty hunter slips into town looking for a fugitive. Instead, he comes upon a pregnant whore and reluctantly becomes her protector against the zombie onslaught. The bounty hunter is a dangerous man and the sheriff and cowboys are armed to the teeth, but it may not be enough to stop the Indian's curse. Featuring beautiful illustrations and sharp prose by the award-nominated duo of Rick Spears and Rob G. Dead West delivers high-impact heart-throbbing action.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1083201 in Books
• Published on: 2005-08-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

From Publishers Weekly
This story starts, as all stories about the American West do, with the white man murdering the American Indian for his land. In this case there is one survivor, the son of a chief who lives only to seek revenge. Years later, a town has sprung up on the site of the massacre. A sheriff who shows no mercy, a fugitive, a pregnant whore and a bounty hunter all converge here, where civilization is losing its hold. The orphaned American Indian returns to cast an ancient curse. Next thing we know, the dead are rising from their graves and it's every man—and woman—for himself as the townsfolk face the zombie horror. This story has all the conventions of the Western, from the bounty hunter to the showdown, but the walking undead make every cliché unpredictable. Spears and Rob G almost pull off this horror/western hybrid. However, the scratchy pen-and-ink drawings that make the zombies so gruesome also make it difficult to distinguish the myriad main characters from one another, and the disparate story lines flash by without much development. Despite the weaknesses, the story's novelty carries the day. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal
Grade 10 Up–This edgy graphic novel, which wonderfully blends the tropes of the Western with the zombie horror story, opens with a short prequel. A Native American village is wiped out to make way for a town called Lazarus. Years later, the lone survivor returns and places a curse on the bustling burg. The dead rise from their graves and start attacking and snacking on the inhabitants. Speed ahead one week and a bounty hunter arrives, searching for a fugitive. He finds himself helping the trapped people so he can reach his target. Spears balances heart-pounding action with quick side moments that give readers a chance to catch their breath. The tale reaches its inevitably violent-yet-campy conclusion when the cavalry arrives with guns and cannons blazing. Rob G's artwork adds to the fast-paced plotting through a sketchy, frenetic, and angular style. His depiction of violence will satisfy horror enthusiasts but is not so gore-intensive that it will shock average readers. Fans may be surprised by the lack of character development and deep themes that the pair's Teenagers from Mars (Gigantic, 2005) provided so skillfully. But the intent here is one of pure fun and guilty pleasures. Devotees of zombies, Westerns, and zombie-Westerns will rejoice over this thrilling story. As different as it is from this team's other work, it points to a powerful collaboration that is heading toward a promising and diverse career.–Matthew L. Moffett, Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Spears and G follow the grim, hopeless, utterly riveting noir exercise Filler (2005) and the well-received Teenagers from Mars (2005) with what could be labeled a spaghetti western from hell. A prologue shows a trusting Indian community destroyed by white men with a deed to its land. Only a boy survives the massacre, to show up, grown, in the town built on the stolen land, in order to curse it with zombies. Into the town, in which two parties of the still-living are holed up against the shambling cannibals, ride two strangers, the second in pursuit of the first because the first is an outlaw and the second a Leone-Eastwood man with no name. The first joins one besieged group, the second the other, and when the smoke clears . . . Nope, can't give that away. G in particular plunges into this project with gusto, assuring that, however predictably the plot twists, it always looks dusty, ghoulish, and tough as dried boot leather. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Guiness Brilliant
The book was absolutely genius in so many ways...my favorite being: Rob G...as usual, he has pulled off the stunning artwork that brings this book together. Pen and ink is a terribly difficult medium to work with, and he makes it look like a walk in the park- It has effortless grace (yes, even in the zombies) and lends a herd-of-zebras chaos to the whole scheme.
Hands down, one of my favorite Graphic novels of the era.

could be much better
I have read a lot of graphic novels, am a big fan of Spaghetti Westerns, and Zombie flicks. I'm also a huge fan of the RPG "Deadlands." This books has certain similarities to the world of "Deadlands" but is no where near as detailed and creative. Even the bulls head logo bears a striking similarity to Deadlands. The story is simple, the characters stereotypical, and the plot underwhelming.

I feel like the tone is also trying to strike that of the popular "Preacher" comics. But the humor and bravado are no where near as textured. It just falls flat.

The graphics themselves are ok, a little messy at times, but nothing spectacular.

I will say however, that the quality of he book itself is top of the line. Nice matte paper and good binding.

I feel like this is the start of something really good, but it's just not there yet, and probably not worth more than 10 bucks, tops. It's a quick 1 hour read.

A SPAGHETTI WESTERN ZOMBIE STORY
It's always a treat when something from a small publisher just jumps out and grabs you and doesn't let go. Dead West from Gigantic Graphic Novels is just such a book. A blending of spaghetti western and zombie films...Clint Eastwood meets George Romero.
Produced by Rick Spears & Rob Goodridge, Dead West takes these two unique film genres and blends them together for one horrific ride.

The story opens as a group of Native American Indians warmly welcomes the white man into their small village, only to have the white men lay claim to the lands. The men return as raiders, killing all of the Indians except for the young son of the tribe's chief who escapes. Move forward a number of years to the town of Lazarus on the very land stolen from the Native Americans. That lone survivor of the raid, now a man, performs a ghoulish ritual atop the Lazarus cemetery, taking his own life and letting his blood spill over the graves. Soon the dead claw their way out of the ground, and shuffle forth towards the town, led by the same Indian Shaman, now returned to life himself, to avenge his tribe.

The residents of Lazarus now find themselves under attack by the undead zombies, and returning to life when they die themselves to attack their former friends and neighbors. The survivors take refuge where they can and try to fight off the living dead as a mysterious man, looking remarkably like Clint Eastwood from one of his spaghetti westerns, comes to town in search of a man with a price on his head, and finds himself caught up in this hellish struggle with the dead.

I am always a sucker for a good zombie story and Dead West certainly was that. The black & white art, while not remarkable, was very reminiscent of the kind of art in the old Warren horror magazines like Creepy or Eerie back in the day. In fact the art somewhat reminded me of Pat Boyette's work on those same magazines from the 60's and 70's. I also like the fact that dialog was kept to a minimum as Spears and Goodridge let the visuals tell the story. There's nothing worse than a story that gets too "talky", especially a horror story. They have a very good handle on the zombie concept and a good flair for the dramatic as well. A very well done story and I look forward to seeing more from this pair.

Reviewed by Tim Janson